My Books and My Stories

How I turned the TV OFF

How do you become the most hated mom during the summer?
Turn the TV OFF.

Yep I said it, turn the TV off. Back in May I made the decision to turn the TV off unless it was
A. Raining
B. Snowing
C. Super Cold Outside
D. Dark.
Those were the guidelines to watching TV in my house and I think I will continue that decision throughout the rest of the year. Will it be hard when I am trying to teach my eldest 5th grade math equations? Yes, because I will be the first to admit I’ve used my TV as a babysitter for my other children, even if it is only 10 feet away from our school desks in the next room in the past. I want to create a learning environment not glued to the TV environment.

What I have found during the last few months about my children;

They have wonderful imaginations, they are creative, they are adventurous and they fight less as well as well as being happier healthier children. It is OK for your children to be bored, it sparks their creativity and imaginations. We have battled boredom with books, spending time at the library, going swimming, to the park, playing on our really long slip’n slide, riding their bikes in the driveway, I may have also suggested weeding the garden is a boredom killer.

Have I stuck to this rule completely? Nope, on occasion there are days we will sit and watch TV all day usually because one of us is sick, we have battled summer colds, the croup and a stomach bug this summer. But like every rule there are exceptions and that is OK too.